Authors: Russ Scalzo
“I will not stand here and converse with you. By the power
given to me by my heavenly Father, I bind you and cast you from this place in
the name of Jesus, the son of the Living God!”
The creature ran at them and stood face to face with Jack for
a few seconds, hissing and oozing, doing its best to strike fear into Jack’s
heart and destroy his faith. Jack held his ground even though he felt like he
was having an out-of-body experience. Then suddenly, he felt as though the hand
of God had been laid upon him. He shouted, “Leave this place, spirit of Despair,
in the name of Jesus!”
The creature roared like a wild beast, circled the room twice,
and vanished in a cloud of reddish mist.
Frank looked at Jack, his eyes as big as saucers. “What the
heck, Jack? My heart can’t take much more of this. Whatever happened to flesh
and blood bad guys?”
Jack turned to him, his heart still racing, “Our God is an
awesome God. That’s all I can say. Hey, look! The rain stopped. This would be a
good time to get out of here.”
Frank walked into the room and stood right where the demon had
stood. He was totally amazed at the incredible power of the name of Jesus. He
looked around the room for a minute and then turned to Jack. “What do you think
about what that demon said about us being hunted?”
“I will admit that was weird. Especially since you and I seem
to be under some kind of surveillance. However, I’ve never known a demon to be
truthful. Jesus said the devil is a liar and even went on to define it further.
He said that he is the Father of Lies, the very originator of the lie. I don’t
think we can put too much stock in anything one of his demons told us.”
He glanced out the window and saw something a good distance
down the driveway. He looked again and motioned to Jack. “Jack, take a look at
this.”
Jack walked over to the window and looked. His eyes widened.
“I think that’s the car I saw back in town! Yes, definitely. That’s the car
that followed you.”
“Yeah, that’s the one.”
“How did he know we were here? Do
you think he followed us?”
Frank checked his weapon one more time and said, “No way. I
would have picked up on that on the way here. No, somebody tipped him off - somebody
on the inside. That’s not good Jack. That means somebody in the FBI is giving
Senator Wellsenburg info on our cases. It won’t be long before they connect all
the dots.”
Jack took one more look out the window, “He’s leaving. We should
follow him and find out who hired him.”
“Not now. When I get back in DC I will find out what’s going
on one way or another. Let’s get you back home and to that beautiful girl of
yours. We need a little break anyway, don’t you think?”
Jack nodded, “Yeah this place gives me the creeps.”
The two men walked down the steps and out the door. Jack
opened the car door and stood there for a moment. He turned and looked back at
the old inn. He raised his eyes to check the upstairs window one more time. He
knew God had taken care of the situation but he couldn’t help taking one more
look.
Frank started the car, waited for a few seconds, and then
said sarcastically, “Are you getting in or do you want to book a room”?
Jack got in, and as they drove
down the long driveway, they both knew the biggest battles were still ahead.
Jack
sat at his desk with a fresh brewed cup of joe and began to type. Frank had
dropped him off around two and then he decided to do a little work around the
yard, pulling weeds out of the flowerbeds and watering his tomato plants.
Working outside always helped Jack relax and enabled him to clear his mind. For
him, there was nothing like getting his hands dirty in the fertile, black,
Virginia soil. It always reminded him of the lessons Jesus taught. In the Gospels
there is a story about a man who sowed good seed and then, during the night,
the enemy came and sowed bad seed alongside it. Jack knew how important it was
to keep up with his garden so the weeds wouldn’t have a chance to overtake his
plants. He learned to apply that to his spiritual life as well. It helped him
remember to pray and read his Bible every day, like keeping the bad seeds of
life from overtaking his heart.
Jack made plans to pick Emily up for dinner at six. He knew
he had to tell her about the person who was following Frank and him. At this
point, he was pretty sure that Emily would take it in stride, considering
everything else he had told her.
It was five o’clock when Jack got out of the shower. He
decided he had time to add a special entry to his blog before he picked Emily
up. After today’s experience, he felt he needed to say something.
“The Growing Evil on Planet Earth”
By Jack Bennett
Special Edition
There is
much being said today about terrorism, and rightly so. We see beheadings in
Syria and attacks on our sons and daughters in the military and law enforcement
all around the world. What drives people to do such awful brutal acts? What do
you think? Is it religion? Politics? Or is just plain hate? When it happens
here in the West, people say it’s because the person wasn’t in their right
mind. Really? That seems to be a no brainer, don’t you think? Well, enough
questions. How about some answers?
This
world is a battlefield and you and I are in the battle somewhere, whether we
like it or not. We have two choices.
1. We can
bury our heads in the sand. We can continue to live our lives completely
avoiding this truth in hopes that it won’t touch us, or someone we love. We can
just sit back and hope that it will all somehow magically disappear. (Most of
us are doing this now.)
2. We can
decide to learn the truth about the forces of evil and fight back.
Now you
may say, “That’s easy for you to say, blogger man, but I have a life and a family
and I can’t get involved in some crazy battle.”
Trust me,
I know it sounds like a sci-fi novel, but give me a second (or two… possibly
three). Evil started way back in eternity, which is a pretty long time ago.
Whether you and I like it or not, the devil is real and he hates you. Why? Because
God loves you and he hates that fact. There is an evil in this world that
influences every aspect of life on planet Earth and the more that people
embrace that spirit of evil, the more evil they will become. God told us how He
wanted us to live and how He wanted us to treat each other, but somewhere along
the line we all decided to do our own thing and go our own way. You can’t put
truck parts in a washing machine and expect it to run, just like you can’t live
on sugar only and expect to feel good. God has a plan for you and I, and we
need to follow it.
Evil
comes from the master of evil, and no - he doesn’t wear a red suit and carry a
pitchfork. It’s much, much worse than that. He comes as an angel of light
promising that you will have everything you want if you will only follow him. Sounds
like some politicians. However, like the mouse tempted by the cheese or peanut
butter, once you’re in the trap, it’s usually too late.
What’s your opinion? Do you feel these poor guys in ISIS and
other terror groups, mass murderers and the like just had bad childhoods? Or do
you believe what the Bible has to say:
“
We struggle not against flesh and blood, but against
the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and
against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.”
Until next time,
Jack Bennett
Jack read it over, hit the enter key, and sent the
post off. It was now twenty after five and he needed to get dressed and head
out the door. Even though he felt nervous about telling Emily about the
surveillance, he still couldn’t wait to see her. As he got ready, Frank’s words
kept swimming around in his head:
You buy this girl a big diamond ring and make it
forever
.
Jack wished in his heart he could do that, but it went
against all common sense, against everything he counseled everyone else not to
do. He kept telling himself that it was too early for anything like that and
that they needed more time to get to know each other. He kept repeating it over
and over again in his head, but it wasn’t helping. All he could think about was
how crazy he was about her. He grabbed his car keys and was on his way.
* * *
It was five o’clock when Frank got back to D.C. He was hell-bent
on finding out why he was being followed. He had called Jeff Callaport, his
inside source, while he was on the road. Jeff was the same one who had first
given him the info on Wellsenburg and the Sons of Nimrod. He was a longtime
friend and a real character. He was short, only about five feet tall, and was usually
very sarcastic. Jeff was often compared to a young Danny DeVito, not only
because of his face, size, and shape, but because he often acted a lot like the
character DeVito played on the 1980’s TV show,
Taxi
. Frank figured he
might have some idea about what was going on.
They had agreed to meet at The Old Ebbitt at six o’clock. It
was
one of Frank’s favorite spots in D.C. Established in
1856, it was a favorite of Presidents Grant, Cleveland, Harding, and Theodore
Roosevelt. Frank was a bit of a history buff so he got off on the whole
experience.
The Old
Ebbitt served a diverse selection of food. Frank knew Jeff liked t
he crab cakes there while
Frank was all about their steaks. He figured he
owed Jeff at least a dinner after all the help he had given.
Frank
parked his car on Tenth Street across from the FBI building and walked the
half-mile or so to the restaurant. It turned out to be a nice evening and he
needed some time to sort through all that had happened at the old inn. Hanging
with Jack was both a challenge and a growing experience. He had to admit that
he was kind of jealous of Jack’s newfound love. He knew Jack’s plans and that
he and Emily were about to have dinner together and hang out, probably until
the wee hours of the morning. Having someone like that in his life was something
Frank often thought about, but for now he had to do his job, and right now, that
was to find out as much about Wellsenburg’s plans as possible.
He
reached the restaurant on the corner of G and Fifteenth and walked in. Jeff was
sitting at the bar waiting. When he saw Frank come in, Jeff motioned to the
waiter and they were seated. He had made a reservation as soon as Frank called
him about the meet.
There
were many rooms and bars in this historic restaurant, but Frank preferred to
sit in Grant's bar room because it was quieter than the rest of the place,
and he loved to sit in the high-back,
mahogany and velvet booths. All
the bars were gorgeous, set in marble, brass, and beveled glass.
Frank didn’t come here often, mostly because the
food was a little pricey and it was always crowded. However, the atmosphere and
the food were wonderful and, as he put it, he was never disappointed.
“Hey,
Frank. How are you? Still in one piece I see,” Jeff said.
Frank
chuckled. “Hey, Jeff. Yeah and I hope to keep it that way.”
The
waiter came over to their table
in the trademark Old Ebbitt uniform of a white button-down
shirt, bow tie, suspenders, and a long, white apron,
and asked if they would like a drink.
Frank ordered a glass of the house red and Jeff stayed with his Scotch on the
rocks that he brought over from the bar.
“Did you
ever wonder who painted that oil painting hanging over the bar?” Frank asked.
Jeff
looked at him noticeably uninterested, “You mean the one of the naked lady? No,
not really.”
“Are you
all right? You seem on edge. I mean more than usual.”
Jeff took
another sip of his drink and plunked his glass back on the table. “Divorce
sucks!”
Frank sat
back a little surprised at Jeff’s opening salvo.
“Whoa,
what’s going on?”
Jeff
peered down into his drink. “Seven years with this woman and it’s like she
forgot that we used to be in love. Now it’s all about the money and the house.
Thank God we didn’t have any kids yet. Don’t get me wrong, I wanted kids but
she wanted to wait. I guess she was right about that part. I mean, is this why
she wanted to wait to have a family? Did she have this in the back of her mind
or what? I’m sorry, Frank. I know you had a bad one too. I’ve just had a really
bad day.”
Unfortunately,
Frank was also well acquainted with the way Jeff was feeling. It had only been
two years since his divorce and it wasn’t one of those amicable ones. His wife
left him for her yoga instructor. She said it was only a onetime thing, when in
fact he found out with a little investigation that she had been seeing him off
and on for six months. The fortunate thing he had in common with Jeff was that
neither of them had children to drag through it all.
“No
worries, my friend. You’re right, there ain’t nothing good about it. How many Scotches
have you had?”
Jeff
picked up his glass again and glared at it, “Just two. My head’s not hurting
from alcohol, just misery. By the way, you look pretty good for all you’ve been
through lately. What’s your secret?”
Frank
looked at Jeff and simply said, “I have the Lord in my life now.”
Jeff
stared at him for a minute then responded. “You? Mr. FBI? Frank ‘The Lawman’
Lederman. Wait a minute! I thought you were Jewish!”
Frank
smiled. “Well, I am by birth. I never was a practicing Jew, but yes I am
Jewish. A few weeks ago, I had an incredible experience with God. I felt Him
like I never thought possible. I prayed to Jesus for the first time and He
changed my whole way of thinking. He gave me a real, supernatural peace. I feel
great. I mean, I still have tough situations like the one we’re discussing, but
I can feel Him leading and guiding me through them.”
Jeff sat
back in his seat. He was truly taken aback by Frank’s honesty, but was
genuinely touched by what he was saying.
“Wow, I think
that’s awesome, Frank. I’ve heard others talk like that, but I never thought I
would hear those words coming from you. I mean, that’s great and all, but I
don’t understand. How does something like that happen? One day you’re one way,
then the next day you’re...? ”
“I think
the word you’re looking for is
saved
. I’ll tell you what my buddy told
me. Go home tonight and talk to the Lord Jesus. Talk to Him like you’re talking
to me. Tell Him all about what’s going on in your life and ask Him to forgive
you of all your sins - your failings and mess-ups. Believe me, you will feel
like a giant load has been taken off your back.”
“Just
hearing you talk like that blows my mind. You seem different. I can sense
that.” Jeff thought about it for a moment and said, “I could really use some
peace in my life. You know what? I’ll do it. I promise I will spend some time
talking to God when I get home tonight.”
The
waiter came back with Frank’s cabernet and asked for their order. Frank ordered
his New York Strip and Jeff ordered his favorite - crab cakes. Once the waiter
left, Jeff collected himself and refocused. “Now, tell me more about this
shadow of yours?”
“I
haven’t seen his face, but he followed me out of Blackstone two days ago and
then he showed up this morning at my assignment outside of
Merrifield. I figure he’s
connected to
you-know-who
.”
Frank was very careful not to throw out any names. After all,
this was Washington D.C. and you never knew who was listening.
It was no mystery to Jeff. He knew he was talking about
Senator Wellsenburg and he also knew how dangerous of an adversary the senator
could be. Jeff reached down, pulled a manila folder out of his briefcase, and
slapped it on the table.
“Well,
there’s no doubt about that. I have something else to tell you to thicken the
plot.” Jeff lowered his voice a bit as to not draw attention from the
surrounding patrons, “I was given something the other day - a paper file that
I’m sure was supposed to be destroyed a long time ago. I found it stuck in
between my storm and front doors. It appears someone’s guilty conscience got
the best of them, and from what I’ve read, it looks like our man might have had
something to do with the deaths of your mystery couple.”